Folding tub rack



March 17, 1925.

H. S.. MAGEL FOLDING TUB RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 26, 1922 om M March 17, 1925.

H. S. MAGEL FOLDING TUB ARACK Filed Dec. 26, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheetn 2 F 4- lnue/woz b. S/11A GEL.

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Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES HENRY S. E'ZAGEL, OIF SIDNEY.. OVIA.

FOLDING TUB RACK.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, HENRY Si. iflaenL, a citizen of the United States, residing at- Sidney, in the county of Fremont and Statenof iowa, have inventedI certain new and userul Improvements in Folding Tub Racks, of which the. following is a. specification.

My invention relates to `benches or racks for supporting wash-tubs and the like. It is the object of my invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and convenient.support for a washtub or like article, adapted to sustain the same at a height suitable for use, and to enable the tub while mounted upon the support to be readily moved about upon a floor, regardless of the weight of the tubcontents. A further object of my invention is to provide a support of this character which may be readily folded so as to occupy a small space when not in use, which is securely retained in its extended form, and in which the securing means are easily releasable when the device is to be collapsed or'folded.

ln the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention, F ig. 2 is a detail vertical section and partial side elevation showing one of the brace-rod connections, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device, Fig. l is a side view thereof, and Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

in the illustrated embodiment of my invention I provide a main frame consisting of a pair of vertical side-pieces 6, and the upper and lower cross-pieces 7 and 8. Said cross-pieces are arranged vertically edgewise, and the ends thereof are secured in vertical notches or mortices in the upper and lower ends of the side-pieces 6. At their upper ends said side-.pieces extend slightly above the upper edge of the crosspiece 7 and the inner edges of the projecting portions are preferably beveled as shown. To said main frame there is hinged at each side a swinging or folding frame, comprising a vertical side-piece 9 of the same shape as the side-pieces 6 of the main frame, and horizontal upper and lower pieces 10 and 11, which are secured in notches in the upper and lower ends of said Iside-piece 9. To the sides of the pieces 10 and 11, at the inner ends thereof, are secured the hinges 12, said hinges being also secured to blocks 13 which are attached to the sides of the upper and lower cross-pieces 7 and 8 of the main frame,

near the center thereof. Said blocks 13 are oppositely oiiset from the center or" the main frame at the two sides thereof, so that ywhen .the'swinging frames are in their extended positions, at right angles with the mainv frame as shownv in Fig; 3, they will be alined with eachother, and the four side-pieces 6 and 9 will be symmetrically positioned about a vertical axis passing through the center of the main frame. F rom said extended positions the hinged frames are swinga'ble about the vertical axes of the hinges'l2 to the positions shown by dotted lines in Fig.

3, at which the edges of the members 9 en- Agage the sides of the cross-pieces 7 adjacent to the members 6.

Releas'able bracing means are provided for holding the hinged or swinging members in the extended positions. In'the preferred structure, each of the members 9 is provided at the inner side with a pair of anglemade of sheet-metal and are'secured to said cross-pieces of the main frame b-y means of bars 20.which lit into the channels at the backs thereof, opposite the openlongitudinal slots in which the rod-terminals 18 are slidable, said bars 2O being secured to the cross-pieces by means of screws 21. The rod-terminals 18 are each provided with a cross-pin 22, so arranged as to extend be! neath the inwardly turned Hanges of the channel-members and thereby serve to prevent withdrawal of the terminals from the T-slots formed by the channels. The U- shaped brace-rods are slightly resilient, being so formed that the ends or terminals 18 are pressed yieldingly toward and against the bars 20, and each of said bars is provided with'an opening, adjacent to the outer end thereof, adapted to receive the respective end of the bracerod when the same is in the position assumed when the swinging frames are extended, or at right anoles. to the main frame. By reason of the resilience .brackets la having openings in which is pivof the .brace-rods, whereby the terminals 1.8 are constantly` pressed toward the bars 20, when the swinging iframe-portions are moved to their extended positions the rodterminals enter the holes in the bars 2O and remain seated therein, so that the entire device is thereby held rigidly in the extended position. `When the rack is to'be folded, the rod-terminals are disengaged from thehoies by springing the upper and 'lower horizontal portions 16 and 17 Ltoward each other, excessive movement thereoil being prevented by the engagement of the cross-pins 22 with the channel-iianges The most 'convenient wayl of so springing the brace-rods is by grasping the .middle part of the vertical portion l5, between the angle-brackets 14, and

pressing said part of therod toward `the side-piece 9, so that the rod is bowed as indi-` lated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The bowing ot the central part of the brace-rods lifts the lower portions 17 and lowers the upper horizontal portions 16,'so that the terminals i8. are .disengaged from 'thebars 20, Aand said terminals 18 may then slide inward along the slotsA in the ehannel-meinbersl) as the swingingffrarnes are turned in against the sides of the inain frame.

rlhe entire device is preferably mounted iipon castor-wheels so as to be easily moved about upon a floor, 'the castor-wheels 23 being arranged beneath the outer end-portions of the lower cross-pieces 8 and 1l, as shown. AThe rack is sopro-portioned that a tub or the like may rest upon the skeleton support formed by the upper edges of the cross pieces 7 andlO, being thus supprted at four .points in the same plane, and being prevented from slippingotf the rack, by reason oit' the upper end-portions of the side-pieces 6 and 9, which extend above the cross-pieces. Thus, when it is desired to move the rack and tub, the user may push directly upon the tub in the desired direction oit movement, without liability of thereby displacing the tub from the support.

Now, having described my invention,

what I claim and desireto secure by Let ters Patent is:

i l. A device of the classrv described, comF prising a. kmain iframehaving vertical side.-

pieces and horizontal upper and lower crosspieces connecting` said'side-pieces, swinging trames each having a vertical side-piece and horizontal upper and lower pieces secured to said side-piece, hinges 'connecting the ends oi' said upper and.` lower horizontal pieces with intermediate portions oif the coirrespending cross-pieces of the main frame lat.

opposite sides thereof, guide-channels on the cross-pieces oit the main'iira'ine, brace-rods mounted pivotally upon said swinging ramesand having end-portions slidably engaging said guide-channels, and members'associated with said guide-.channels and en-v gageable by the endsfoi said 'brace-rods to retain the swinging trames in fixed relation to the main iframe.-

2. In a device of the class described, ka

substantially rectangular main frame having vertical side-pieces and upper and lower cross-pieces, swinging frames hinged to the i sides of the main traine, each swinging 'frame comprising a vertical side-piece and an. upper and lower horizontal piece, the ends of the latter being hinge-connected with the sides of the main-frame cross-,pieces and thereby held inhorizontal alineinent with the same, guide-channels secured on the f in extended position relative to the" mainV frame, the ends of the brace-rods being nor mally pressed toward said' retaining means and being releasable therefrom by bowing of said vertical intermediate portions of rthe rods.

HENRY S. MAGEL. 

